HIT THE WALL

TIRRENO ADRIATICO 13 19 March | Italy | 2.UWT

If the actual walls in Recanati, a small town near the eastern Italian coast, could talk, they’d probably spout the prose of Giacomo Leopardi, the renowned 18th century poet who is its most famous resident. But when Tirreno-Adriatico reaches its roads on stage 5 this year, it’s likely the riders will be screaming at the walls, or ‘muri’, the series of short, steep climbs that organisers RCS hope will create this year’s most spectacular stage. This year, to supplement the time trials that bookend the race, there are plenty of ‘muri’ but no big mountaintop finale; stage 4 to Fossombrone ends with two tricky climbs before stage 5’s nine-climb fiesta. The race is still favoured by those warming up for Italy’s blockbusters: Milan-San Remo and the Giro in May, with seven of the last eight Giro winners riding Tirreno first.

This year's Tirreno route dispenses with a big mountain climb in favour of a series of short, steep climbs